Hillsboro Methodist Church and Cemetery were entered on the National Register of Historic Places on June 5. The National Register includes sites and structures that are of historical value to American history.
The Hillsboro Methodist Church is located on Hillsboro Rd, north of Forest. The HMC joins four other buildings or locations that are currently recognized as historic sites in Scott County — Lake Railroad Station, Moore Lookout Tower, Roosevelt State Park, and the Forest Post Office.
The church was established in 1836. The original structure was destroyed in unknown circumstances and the existing building was built in 1928. The church is T-shaped with a perpendicular addition behind the altar with a kitchen, bathroom, and schoolroom.
Two curtained windows flank the altar to the left and right, swallowed within the interior of the building when the addition was made. The sun shines through the windows in the back rooms and lights the white curtains within the church still.
The main room of the church is 40 ft. wide and 49 ft. deep with a high ceiling that is over 15 ft. from the floor at the front of the sanctuary and over 14 ft. from the floor in the back, and featuring four sets of schoolhouse light fixtures, hung from chains.
The interior has the original walls, ceiling, and heart-pine floors. The original wooden pews line the length of the room.
The addition behind the altar is 16 ft. wide and 52 ft. long. The perpendicular addition was constructed in the mid-1930s.
The church is still utilized for weddings. The church bell is erected behind the church between two steel I-beams. The bell was forged by Ven & Company and is not dated. It is believed by some that this is the original bell from the 19th century.
The cemetery continues to serve the community as a burial location. It contains monuments of six soldiers that fought in the Civil War. Gravesites date back to 1836.
In 1983 the HMC was transferred to the custodianship of the Hillsboro Methodist Cemetery Association. The HMCA has maintained the site and allowed it to be utilized for weddings, funerals, and other religious activities.
The week after exterior photos of the church were taken, it began a restoration on July 19. The peeling white paint has already been scraped and the freshly painted church is surely now a titanium white as if it were built yesterday.
